In recent years manufacturers have been investing large amounts of money into the design of product packaging in an effort to attract more consumers to their products. A great amount of detailed consideration has been given to the color and graphics of the package to enhance the aesthetics of the product.
Foil laminated paper and metallized papers are popular labeling and packaging materials for gift wrappings, coverings and decorative uses. Metallized papers are less bulky and less expensive than foil laminated paper.
A method for forming metallized paper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,659 to Dragoom et al. The method comprises applying a barrier coat to a web, supercalendering the coated web, applying a continuous top coat to the coated web, vacuum metallizing said top coat, and then print-priming the vacuum metallized surface to form an inexpensive glossy mettallized paper which is particularly useful in the decorative labeling and packaging fields.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,195 to Mills discloses metallic printing inks and a process for metallizing papers and plastics therewith. The process comprises preparing a metallic ink containing a leafing grade aluminum paste, applying the ink to a paper, paperboard or plastic film base by either the relief or intaglio printing processes, drying the ink to form a metallized coating on the base and then heat treating the coating at a temperature of about 300.degree. F. to cause the aluminum particles to move to the surface to form a reflective coating.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,521,492 and 4,568,574 to Allen each disclose a light refractive coated paperboard which has the appearance of a colored foil laminated paperboard without employing foil which conceals, from the outer surface of a package made therefrom, oil and grease stains which have penetrated the inner surface of the package. The packaging material comprises a normally oil and/or grease permeable substrate material coated with a non-leafing silver-colored ink and a highly pigmented white ink layer. In some cases a transparent polymeric overlayer is superimposed upon the pigmented polymeric layer. The Allen patents further teach that if a foil-like appearance is desired, the highly pigmented white ink is first deposited on the substrate and thereafter the non-leafing silver colored ink is applied over the highly pigmented white ink layer.
A method of forming the packaging material is also provided by the Allen patents. The method comprises the steps of providing a substrate which is normally susceptible to permeation by oil or grease; printing on one surface of the substrate a first layer of one of a non-leafing metallic silver-colored ink and a highly pigmented white ink and printing directly onto the first layer a second layer of the other of the non-leafing metallic ink and the highly pigmented ink to mask the appearance of grease or oil stains which permeate the substrate from the opposite surface.
However, in many instances, it is undesirable to produce a packaging material which conceals grease and oil stains or which is foil like in appearance in its entirety.